“Stop staring at me!”

Jihoon’s view is suddenly obstructed as you place your palms over his eyes. He only spares you a chuckle in response, grasping your wrists in his hands softly; lowering it down.

“Can you blame me? The one person I’ve always wanted to be by my side is suddenly right in front of me,” he heaves a breath. Words tumble out of him, his lips working like a broken dam, channeling his strained voice.

“I feel like you’d disappear on me and I’d wake up from this dream if I let you out of my sight for even a second.”

Your eyes softened as a knowing smile unfolds. Jihoon takes note at how sweeter your smile looks when he’s up close to you like this. You twist your left hand to fit his while the other gently cups his cheek; as his settles on your waist.

“I’m not going anywhere, my love.”

Jihoon leans against the palm on his cheek, eyes closing to take in the comfort of your touch. He’s pictured this scene multiple times—too many times, even. Whenever he finds it hard to fall asleep, he’d imagine your fingers threading through his hair and your sweet whispers lulling him to sleep. When he feels stuck he’d picture you beside him, softly caressing his hands with an encouraging smile plastered on your face. In those moments, the phantom of your touches offer a glimpse of comfort that leaves behind sorrow in its tracks.

However, even his wildest imagination couldn’t even come close to how he feels in this current time.

An overwhelming warmth envelops him with just the slightest touch of yours, he feels like he’s going mad—now that you’ve taken him in your arms. The bitter aftertaste was nowhere to be found, and he concludes that in your presence, he can let himself be washed over by you in peace.

A fleeting kiss to the palm of your hand, and a shy smile in return.

“So, are you staying with Chaeyoung in Korea?” Jihoon questions with a lilt, a multitude of meanings behind his slight inflection, drawing a smirk out of you.

“Well, do I have any other place to go to?”

Jihoon lets out a breathy chuckle. Of course you’d try to make him be the one to ask you to stay; despite you wanting the same thing. Deep down, you both knew that neither of you wanted to leave the other.

“I mean, there’s always Jeonghan and Miki,” he snickers.

The hand that lovingly cradled his cheek goes down to give his shoulder a slap.

“You’re one second away of getting your boyfriend privileges revoked.”

Another laugh forces its way out of him and you give him a pause to recuperate when the hand he had on your waist suddenly pulls you closer.

“Well then, Yn, would you do the honours of staying the night with me?”

Your lips dried out as the closeness knocked a breath out of you. Darting your eyes away, you try to distract yourself enough to gather your wits, yet to no avail. Head still spinning at the close proximity, you only managed to let out an approving hum.

A smug smile cracks on his face, a taunt ready at the tip of his tongue. You brace yourself for the teasing as you knew he wouldn’t let you live this moment down, when a voice boomed throughout the room.

“THIS IS A PUBLIC SPACE, YA NASTIES!”

Taking the chance of the surprise, you push his body to a full arm’s length away from you.

You take a deep breath, willing the heat that rushed to your cheeks to go down as you look away from the man who reduced you to a blushing mess. Satisfied giggles pour out of him and you can only slap his shoulders—again—in retaliation.

Jihoon catches your hand, and you let him intertwine your fingers with his.

“Yn! Jihoon! Come here, Joshua is making us free cocktails!” Seokmin called out.

Slightly alarmed, the two of you give each other a look before making your way towards the bar counter.

“I thought he was a barista, not a bartender?”

Soonyoung only shrugs, “guess we’ll find out.”

As you arrive at the counter, you see Seungcheol downing a glass of whatever light blue concoction Joshua made, a wrinkled face being the only testament to his work.

You feel Jihoon drop his head to your shoulders, a low groan escaping him and you could only laugh.

You can envision the long night ahead of you, yet your heart has never felt as full.

———————————————

“How does it feel to meet your boyfriends’ bosses?”

You snorted, “am I supposed to feel something?” Chan—the young dancer, not the Australian you flew here with—shrugs, mumbling something that sounded like an ass reason. You muse at the late realisation of the same name your two friends share, yet how different they are. You don’t feel the innate urge to fight the Chan standing next to you.

Light conversation continues to fill the cold November night, as all of your friends start to trickle out of the bar one by one. Some looked as fresh as day, while others…

“Seokmin-ah, are you sure you’re good to go home like this?” Minghao asks.

The man in question has one of his arms slung over Wonwoo’s shoulder, the latter replies in his stead, “don’t worry, I’m bringing him over to my place with Hansollie.”

As the last of the guests bid their goodbyes, Jihoon finally steps out of the establishment. His eyes immediately scoured over the group, finding yours straight away and settling into a smile. Right before he could trek his way towards you, a taller man held him back—who you recognise as his fellow producer—whispering something that caused the ones within earshot to share a laugh. At his expense too it seems, as you could see the faint blush creeping upon his ears.

Waving all of them off with a string of curses, he leaves behind the hooting group and takes fast strides towards you. You welcome him with an eyebrow raised, obviously curious on the prying eyes on his back.

“Don’t even ask—“

“Miss Yn!” The producer calls out. “Keep on being his muse, yeah? We’d very much appreciate it!”

“Bumzu-hyung I’m gonna make our trainer murder you next gym sesh’!”

A series of jests and discourses later, the once merry atmosphere slowly quiets down to a murmur as the fatigue catches up.

“Let’s meet up soon, okay?”

“Yeah, all seven of you lovebirds better spare some time for us out of your dates!”

Promises of future plans filled the otherwise silent night, with the cold winter wind and the stars as its witness; watching over the long-cultivated friendships finally growing in full bloom. As the same content—yet still hopeful—smile blossoms on everyone’s face, even as you part ways, the palpable joy that trails each of your figures leave a trail of spring in its wake.

Now alone, the two of you settle in a pleasant silence. You slow your pace once you realised that the streets before you were unfamiliar, letting Jihoon take the lead. He notices the gesture, and he squeezes your hand that were threaded between his.

“So, home?”

You hummed tiredly, turning to smile at him only to find the man already staring at you with a fond smile.

At that moment, the two of you exchanged knowing glances, coming to the same conclusion as you grasped each other’s hand softly.

Yeah, this is home.

———————————————

As if in a trance, Jihoon walks over and crawls his way to you on the bed.

A faint smirk grows on your lips as you ask, “What’s up, ‘Hoon?”

Jihoon feels like he could die happy right there and then. He takes in your relaxed figure; back resting against the headboard, dressed in his own t-shirt, freshly wet hair framing your tired, yet beaming face. And it’s all for him.

He crawls all the way up to you until he sits himself on your lap, knees supporting his weight as not to crush you. His hands slowly cups your chin and he lowers his forehead onto yours. Jihoon closes his eyes.

With him a hair’s breadth away, you will your racing heart to take a breather. You take a moment to stare at his face; memorising his details. You take note of how his eyelashes flutter against you, to the slope of his nose—while resisting the urge of giving it a small peck—all the way to his soft pink lips curved in a tiny grin. You squeeze your eyes shut in disbelief of just how cute your boyfriend is.

In fear of breaking the moment, you sigh out softly, smiling in content. You feel time slow to a pause. Within this little bubble you’ve created with Jihoon, you feel like you can stay here for an eternity. A sense of tranquility blankets you and for once in a long while, you feel at complete peace.

Then, Jihoon breaks the silence, his voice barely above a whisper, as if he’s letting you in on a secret. “I love you.”

You open your eyes, immediately taken into his opened one as well, and right there and then you had an epiphany. This serenity you have come to know, takes in the form of Lee Jihoon: a man who was a stranger but quickly barrelled his entire being into your heart and made his own place there. Someone who effortlessly entwined your lives together, whose eyes harbour every ounce of love you think any person can give to someone—and it’s directed towards you.

Ah, I see. This is why they say home is where the heart is.

A pinch. You yelped in surprise, broken out of your love-struck daze by Jihoon lightly pinching your cheek. You notice a pout that formed on his lips and his brow furrowing in what you can guess is impatience, and amusement starts to rumble within you.

“Say it back, loser.”

You burst out in a peal of laughter, completely enamoured by the sulking man in front of you, although the way he fights off a grin and the mirth in his eyes says anything far from any real annoyance. You cup his face as laughter slowly dies from your throat, leaving its traces in the form of a smile so wide your cheeks are starting to ache. (You find that it’s a common phenomenon when you’re with Jihoon.)

“I love you too, you big baby.”

Jihoon grins, fully pleased at your response. He coos at your eyes slowly closing out of sleepiness, and you flick his shoulders, protest ready at the tip of your tongue but a yawn interrupts you. Jihoon softly giggles, brushing your hair away from your face, “okay, it’s sleepy time.”

Satisfied for the night, he turns over and lays down on his side of the bed, bringing you down with him. You shriek at the sudden movement, hitting his arm indignantly at his complacent chuckle. You shimmy your body against his, placing your head on top of his chest—you note at how sturdy it is, and a quip pops in your head, making you grin.

“Hey, remember my motorboating rights?”

Jihoon’s arms that encased your body against his, lightly smacks your hip. Grumbles pour out of him in contrast to your chuckles that slowly die out into a gentle silence.

Feeling your consciousness being overtaken by slumber, you couldn’t help but think at just how wrong you were in the beginning. All the doubts and troubles that weighed down on you, are rendered into nothingness when you are finally together. Your fleeting thoughts allowed your heart to rest a little lighter, and you can’t help but squeeze yourself further into Jihoon’s embrace. You mumble out a barely coherent “goodnight”, drifting off to sleep.

As your breath steadies, a smile blooms on his tired face, feeling the rise and fall of your steady breaths on top of him. Jihoon feels your body slacken and he finally lets his eyes close, letting sleep overtake him. The sole lingering thought he had was his selfish wish to see you in his dreams, never wanting to lose a moment without you.

bonus bc i'm too attached to let them go:

week 1 after the party: FOUL

week ???: seokmin homewrecker era ?

dec 26: ynhoon anniv !! <3

a/n: okay now we are Official Over🤧 this was an absolute ride and i loved every moment writing these, i'm gonna miss these losers<//3 even though there was a bump (more like a fuckin mountain) in the middle, we finally reached the final Final !! end (''': huge thank you to everyone who stuck around even after like,,, the hiatus ㅠ ◡ ㅠ you all have a very special place in my heart i lov u thank u for enjoying about now<3333333333

taglist: @wooziujidoots @lynniac @wuriwoori @serenadesvt @seokgyuu @3sriracha @ktzuki @justasoftstan @mythicalamphitrite @anothershorthuman @lulpurp @introductionvert @icepandagirl @mingyuahjumma @w8nuzone @caratgether @berry-kyu @hadaises

“God, I feel terrible for straight up lying to him.”

Chaeyoung glances at your crumpled face as you put down your phone. A chuckle slips past her lips at the sight of her best friend complaining about lying—to a man nonetheless, she muses internally.

She was about to respond, before you shove your phone near her face, showing the notifications on your lock screen.

“He just wished us a safe flight and that I have fun with your family!” You grumbled while taking sips of your iced coffee in an effort to calm your rising emotions. “I know I wanted to keep it as a surprise but I literally had to pretend we’re going to New Zealand for weeks now. I hate not telling him things, especially big things like-“

“Like you spending an entire year in Korea?” Chan chimes in, dragging his luggage over next to yours as he plops to the seat to your right, a bottled juice in hand.

Chaeyoung snorts in response, “thank you for making her feel better, Christopher.”

You roll your eyes, ready to go on another spiel before Chan prods your cheek with the cold bottle, earning a squeak and a hard shove from you.

“You’re gonna run yourself into the ground at this rate, Yn.”

Chaeyoung reaches out to pat your head whilst slowly pulling you to rest on her shoulders, “Chan’s right, you’ve got nothing to worry about. I know meeting him for the first time is going to be weird—even if you’ve dated for a year.”

Your lips tug into a small smile at that. You still can’t believe that the man you harboured feelings for, despite only knowing him through a screen, has you falling completely in love with him. Now, two years later—one being spent in a relationship—the two of you are still going as strong as ever. Even the fact that you’ve been dating for a year still makes you smile giddily.

“But knowing you two, you’ll break the ice in no time and you can finally do all the things you’ve been wanting to do together.”

A certain bittersweetness tinges your heart. Despite being overjoyed that you were mere days away from finally being able to be physically near him, the built up longing and gloom from the distance still weighs on you.

Celebrations—whether big or small— where you just wanted to bring him into your arms and spin him around, hearing his surprised giggles echoing near your ears. Days where things just don’t work out, it pained you to see him break through a screen and not being able to wipe his tears yourself. Sleepless nights when he’d sing you the sweetest lullabies, watch parties in rainy evenings, lunch dates. Everything that you’ve yearned for still claws deep in your heart, and you wonder when the dull ache would cease. Would it vanish in his presence? Or would it slowly inch deeper as each day passes, knowing your departure looms over your time together?

“Flight number KE072, to Incheon, South Korea, please proceed to the boarding gate.”

Broken out of your reverie, your two friends start to gather all of your belongings together. Everything passes through you in a blur and before you know it, you were seated on a plane; flying to the place where the other half of your heart resides.

——————————

“Layovers fucking suck, dude.”

“Cheer up, I literally just bought you ice cream.”

“I’m not some 4 year old you can just appease with a sweet treat, Chae,”

“Well, it worked for a good ten minutes.”

“You’re terrible, I wish you were the one asleep and not Yn.”

A snort escapes you, alerting the bickering duo that you were in fact, not asleep. You lift your head up after resting it on your arm, blinking your fatigue away.

“How come I didn’t get any ice cream?”

Chaeyoung lightly flicks your temple with her finger, “you’re literally dead asleep, babes. You even got marks on your forehead.”

Rubbing the spot she flicked, you griped indignantly, “and flicking it is supposed to help?”

You raised an arm to retaliate, but before you could pounce on the grinning girl, a ding from your phone caught your attention.

The texts exchanged within the group-chat elicited a snicker out of you, preoccupying your attention and rendering you unaware of the fond looks both Chaeyoung and Chan are sending your way. Nevertheless, the prolonged silence eventually caught your attention. You looked up at the two, growing queasy under their stares.

“Why are you guys looking at me like that?”

Chan snorts at your accusatory glare, waving it off with his hand, “we’re just glad that you finally get to meet your friends who makes you this happy.”

A certain warmth blankets you, heart so full of love and gratitude for the two friends beside you, sporting the same tired yet beaming smile. You didn’t know where you’d be without them—certainly not South Korea, a place that has only been a distant dream until the day they broke the news of your trip.

“Well, it is thanks to you two,” You paused, before hurriedly adding, “I’m also just really happy that we’re on another trip together.” Immediately turning away from the two, you pretended to be engrossed with the stores around that are… closed.

“You’re such a sap, Yn,” Chaeyoung replies with a teasing lilt to her voice.

You chose to stay quiet while looking away, unwilling to let the face-splitting grin be seen by the two cooing at you.

“Look at her smiling, she’s so happy that we helped end her dry season—”

“Bang Christopher Chan!”

——————————

“You’re way shorter than I’d imagined you to be,” you muttered. Or well, tried. Your voice is muffled as your face is still shoved against Miki’s sweater, only barely decipherable mumbles escaping.

“And just like that I’m kicking you out of here.”

The two of you had met up at Jeonghan’s place, agreeing that staying out of the public’s view would decrease the chances of ruining the surprise you worked terribly hard on. After getting lost for 20 minutes and having both Miki and Jeonghan yelling at you over phone, you finally arrived at the quaint apartment—before promptly getting pounced by the Japanese girl you had gotten close to over the past two years and is now one of your dearest friends.

“Hey, no you’re not. I haven’t even gotten the chance to bond with the gremlin since you’ve hogged her from the start, ” Jeonghan’s voice rang out from the kitchen, where you assumed he’s preparing the lunch he ordered. “Let the girl breathe, honey.”

With a light push, Miki detached herself from you, opting to hold your face between her hands, resting them on your cheeks.

“Jihoon is so going to lose his mind when he sees you.”

You snorted in response, “that’s not very reassuring, Miki.”

The girl only rolled her eyes, “trust me, if you really are wearing the outfit you showed me last time on call, he is definitely going to fall in love with you all over again.”

Heat immediately rushes to your cheeks, reddening them in embarrassment. Rendered speechless, you were only capable of spitting out incoherent words whilst Miki enjoys it all with her head thrown back in laughter.

The sound of a door opening interrupts the two of you, along with the shout that came afterwards.

“Where is my lovely Yn-ie?!”

The booming voice that you used to hear over call rings louder in real life, and you could only chuckle as the silver-haired man came into view.

“Hey, Soonyoung—”

“Why does it look like the two of you are about to kiss?”

“The two of them are what, now?” Jeonghan stepped into the living room; a plastic bag full of food on one hand and a kitchen knife on the other.

The sight brought you to yell in jest, “Holy shit dude, I’m not going to steal your girlfriend, put the knife down.”

Echoes of laughter encompassed the room as the four of you shuffled towards the dining table, enticed by the promising smell of good food. Light chatter ensues as you catch one another up with how travelling was, and their future plans while staying here.

“The rest genuinely have no idea that you’re all here,” Jeonghan smirks as he pops another fried chicken in his mouth.

Soonyoung only cackles with glee, “I can just imagine all of their shocked faces tomorrow, oh I’m so excited!”

You pause mid-way of taking another bite, “how did the guys manage to book a whole bar, anyway?”

Everyone only shrugs while Miki chimes in, “Gyu’s a loaded youtuber and Wonwoo’s a loaded streamer.”

You choked on your rice.

Jeonghan snorts before gently shoving her shoulder, “it’s Seokmin’s parents’ bar, dumbass.”

A collective “oooh’s” sounded out, before settling into another food-induced silence.

“So, how are you gonna congratulate the big man on his album release party, Yn?”

“Now why the fuck would you ask her that, Hosh?”

——————————

To say you were nervous was an immeasurable understatement.

“I feel like I’m shitting bricks.”

Chaeyoung tuts you. “Okay one, I did not need that visual image, and two, you look banging! If Jihoon doesn’t drop dead at the sight of you then leave him.”

“She’s right, Yn, but also you’re insane if you think that the guy wouldn’t drop dead when he sees you, regardless of what you look like.” Chan’s voice rang through the speakers.

You could only chew your bottom lip in silence, knowing that what your friends’ said was true, yet too agitated to listen to sound reasoning. Only the humming of the car and the occasional crackle from Chan’s voice call occupied the quiet air and the nerves were eating away at you. You felt like you could lose your mind.

Chaeyoung’s hand grasps yours, her thumb tapping against yours in a rhythmic beat.

You take a deep breath, exhaling. Looking over, you smiled at her gratefully. Even with her eyes on the road, you notice the small smile tugging at the corner of her lip.

The speakers crackled to life once again as Chan interjects the silence, “Oh, Yn, text us later yeah, if you need one of us to pick you up.”

You only hummed noncommittally, the prospect of the night going awry and having to be picked up by your friend is not a scenario you necessarily would like to dwell on.

“Looks like this is the bar,” Chaeyoung muttered.

The car slows down as the two of you try to peer in the seemingly empty bar—which would usually raise suspicion—but you knew that only your group and a couple of other people from Jihoon’s company were invited. You could see some people shuffling about inside, and your body goes timid, frozen in distress.

“I—”

“I did not just drive you all the way here only for you to chicken out, Yn.” Chaeyoung reprimanded you sternly.

“Chaeyoung’s stingy with gas, Yn!”

“I will beat you up, Christopher.”

Recognising a figure walking towards the bar, you tapped Chaeyoung’s arm, interrupting her squabble with Chan.

“I see Miki coming with Jeonghan, so I think I’ll go down now…?” you mumbled hesitantly.

After a blur of cheers and some words of encouragement later, you’re out of the car; whisper-yelling to the couple walking in, catching their attention.

“Why the hell are you hiding behind a tree like some fucking meme?”

“Did you really just compare me to Shaq?”

Miki chuckles in disbelief, “is this really what’s important here?”

Jeonghan waves her off, “Ok, so what’s your game plan here?”

It was nearing 8pm, half an hour after the celebration started, and the three of you were huddled against a wall, near to the entrance of the bar.

Miki groans, “can’t you just walk in and like, I don’t know, announce your existence?”

“Honey, I love you, but you have no flair.”

You huffed, tuning out the quarrelling couple, while eyeing the entrance.

“IS THAT WHO I THINK IT IS?!”

A boisterous shout jolted all of you into silence, the prime suspect of the noise comes in the form of a Boo Seungkwan dashing towards you.

“My least favourite people gathered together! How the hell are all of you here?”

You gasped in faux anger, “this is our first meeting and that’s how you greet us?”

Seungkwan laughs while placing an arm around your shoulders, side-hugging each of you in turn.

“Well, what are you doing outside? Come on, let’s go inside!” He starts slowly pushing you towards the entrance.

“Might as well, we don’t have any ideas anyways,” Jeonghan shrugged.

Sighing, you acquiesced and let yourself be dragged, “okay, at least let me hide behind you all.”

——————————

Maybe Jihoon is kind of... an unobservant dumbass.

You’ve been standing inside the bar—with him standing just across the room from you—yet you’ve still gone undetected.

Or, maybe, everyone is an unobservant dumbass.

Only Seungcheol and Wonwoo has spotted you; the latter visibly surprised at your presence. They both sent you supportive grins and a thumbs up whilst nodding their heads towards where Jihoon is.

Nerves start to crawl under your skin again, doubts clouding over your thoughts. The bar was dim and although he was across the room, you could barely make out his features. Even so, your heart races uncontrollably, and everything you had planned to say crumbled at the tip of your tongue.

“Just go up to him, everything will work out.”

Mingyu’s low voice brings you back down from your head. You whipped your head to him, waving lightly as a greeting that he returned with a pat on your shoulders. With Seungkwan tangled in his arms beside him, they were both smiling at you softly, and he gently whispers, “Trust yourself, and in your relationship, you’ve got this.”

You heave a breath, taking in everyone’s words and fuelling yourself to walk over to where you felt your heart tugging you towards.

Jihoon is leaning against the bar counter, clad in a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up—and you had to reprimand yourself not to stare too long. The red light frames his face into something akin of an artwork, but you beg to differ. Seeing all the different sides of Jihoon from the past two years, you’d argue that every side of him is just as captivating. You find that when it comes to Lee Jihoon, you are completely enamoured by his mere existence.

Step by step, you get closer. A million of scenarios run through your head, different greetings you could say, and how he would react. Yet, nothing could prepare you as you stand an arm’s reach away.

Seokmin, who was talking to Jihoon, gasped loudly and widened his eyes comically. Confused—and mildly concerned—Jihoon swiftly turns his head back, sparing you a glance.

Jihoon did a double take.

At this point, Seokmin—joined by Seungkwan and Mingyu—cheered on theatrically, catching everyone’s attention. Yet, neither of you ever averted your eyes away from each other.

Offering him a shy yet nervous smile, you took a step closer, whilst he’s still taking you in as if he can’t believe you were standing there, existing in his vicinity. Jihoon’s eyes blink wildly, mouth agape, and body still. He was convinced he was dreaming.

A mischievous glint flashes in your eyes and at that second, Jihoon knew instantly that this was real, the same girl he fell in love with—and has been in love with for the past year—is standing right in front of him, and he prepares himself for whatever quip you’ve prepared.

You copied his earlier stance, leaning against the bar and resting an arm on the table. Throwing him the sleaziest smirk you can, you manage to blurt out between your giggles.

“Hey, you come here often?”

extra a/n: v sorry for the cliffhanger LMAO

taglist: @wooziujidoots @lynniac @wuriwoori @serenadesvt @seokgyuu @3sriracha @ktzuki @justasoftstan @mythicalamphitrite @anothershorthuman @lulpurp @introductionvert @icepandagirl @mingyuahjumma @w8nuzone @caratgether @berry-kyu @hadaises